In a Q&A with The New York Times, local entrepreneur Mark Cleveland talks about his deal late last year to sell the Hobby Lobby name on his remote control products retailer to the larger chain of arts and crafts stores. Among the interesting details: How Carter Todd turned the tide, what eventually convinced him to seriously think about changing the name on his Brentwood store and how he went about updating the company's web presence.

Q. Knowing what you know now, would you have still bought Hobby Lobby International?

A. Yes. I learned more in the last five years about branding and complex business relationships than I learned most of my career. I’d do it again, though my wife might disagree. It consumed so much of my energy.

Six-year-old athletic sock manufacturer Swiftwick is making moves to build a national footprint and has dispatched two of its sales managers to set up regional offices in Austin and Denver. The moves comes after Brentwood-based Swiftwick grew by a third in 2013.

“The Swiftwick brand is already strong in Texas and Colorado, where active lifestyles and the ‘do what moves you’ attitude has roots,” said Mark A. Cleveland, CEO and co-founder of Swiftwick. “Because of our strength in these ultra-cool markets, we’re moving employees and resources there to up the intensity.”